In 1999, rumors circulated that three of Salinger's neighbors who had spent time in his home had seen a bank vault in which the author claimed to have placed "15 or 16" of his completed novels.

All are presumably about the Glass Family.If it's true that he has written these other books, the question of the day is what will happen to them after the author's death? His friends believe that he will either destroy them or authorize their publication, which would make for one of the most enlightening posthumous collections ever.

Meanwhile, the author--who leads an ascetic life--refers to himself as a "failed Zen Buddhist," walks about in a blue mechanic's uniform, and, when he goes to local restaurants, eats in the kitchen to avoid people.

2007-02-25

It began with the Bottle Gang's list of Hollywood's Greatest Drinkers. In this list they deify the wonderful Dean Martin whom I adore. Having watched a a plethora of The Dean Martin Show, and one show in particular in which he's singing some song with the omnipresent lit cigarette going when the cherry of the smoke lands in his lap. He doesn't stop singing for a second, just sticks the cigarette in his mouth, stands and sweeps the glowing ash away with a gleam in his eyes the entire time.

All of this digging around online occurred after a weekend of digging my truck out from where is was stuck in the middle of the driveway after an escape attempt. Cabin fever thwarted by Mother Nature. Although not as deeply in it as the car below, I was quite stuck. At least I was able to enjoy the vision of determined squirrels attempting to cross the snow. It went kind of like this LEAP - disappear in deep snowy crevice - LEAP - disappear once again in deep snowy crevice -repeat until the pile of peanuts the kindly lady with the stuck truck put out.

But I didn't want to leave this post with such a dreary photo, so here: What has passed from the Plains to the Coast: A Stubborn Cold Wedge.

2007-02-19

Anyone who is a true furnace face will remember that name. It is the new hottest chili pepper on the planet.

Bhut Jolokia comes in at 1,001,304 Scoville heat units. That's nearly twice as hot as Red Savina, the variety it replaces as the hottest. By comparison, a New Mexico green chili contains about 1,500 Scoville units; an average jalapeno measures at about 10,000.

The Guinness Book of Records agrees that Paul Bosland, a regents professor at New Mexico State University, has discovered the world's hottest chili pepper. The Bhut Jolokia is a naturally occurring hybrid native to the Assam region of northeastern India.

Answer? The best way to ease the burning sensation is to drink milk, or eat yogurt or any other dairy product. A substance found in dairy products known as casein, helps to disrupt the reaction. This substance, which is a lipophilic phosphoprotein, acts like a detergent and literally strips capsaicin from its receptor binding site. If you get the oil on your skin, you may want to rub it with rubbing alcohol first, then soak in milk, this seems to alleviate the burning. If you get it in your eyes, the only thing you can do is repeatedly rinse with water or saline. Be very careful when handling hot chiles, especially pod types like habanero as there are reports of these chiles actually blistering the skin. Gloves are recommended when handling or peeling any types of hot chile.

"We've done our duty. We fought the war. We came home wounded. Fine. But whoever the people are back here who are supposed to give us the easy transition should be doing it," said Marine Sgt. Ryan Groves, 26, an amputee who lived at Walter Reed for 16 months.

"In 5-billion years the Sun will expand & engulf our orbit as the charred ember that was once Earth vaporizes. Have a nice day."

About Me

Referred to as everything from Satanspawn to "that weird chick" to friend of all elves, Jennifer Jordan is writing and reading her way to Nirvana one word at a time. She edited the anthologies EXPLETIVE DELETED and UNCAGE ME! and is the short story/special features editor for Crimespree Magazine.
She is currently hard at work breathing.